【Masa-note 3/3】My Internship in IPPO!

Welcome to my last note!!

The scene: Me and a kid from Lorega, Cebu City

My trip to Cebu was different from my previous trips and from what I have expected.

When I heard about the internship program and the itinerary is in Cebu, Philippines, I thought I can go to their beautiful beaches. But sad to say, we didn’t have a chance to visit any place near the sea. We stayed at Suburb of Cebu City.

Though this trip was clearly different from my imagination, I think I couldn’t have this wonderful time if I had visited the purpose of this internship. We saw many things and know different culture aside from my country.

When me and Atsu arrived at Cebu, we didn’t have a place to stay so we directly went to IPPO and we are so grateful that Mei-san, head teacher of IPPO, offered us to stay in his house. We stayed there for 10 days, March 17 to 26, 2017.

And what surprised me the most is that in a same area around where we stayed at, there are so many different kinds of people. Some of them live in a big condominium, but some live in old houses without doors and windows. We also saw many street children sleeping on the road.

The scene: Me and Atsu standing while eating at Mei-san’s house.The scene: Me and Atsu before going to Cambridge School on 23, Mar 2017

From Mei-San’s 11th floor room, we could tell how big is the difference between the rich and the poor houses. I was really shocked to know the scale of disparity and I hope that someday all people will live on equal society. But, this isn’t the only thing that I experienced. I think I had never talked to this many people before.

Me and Atsu went to many schools, stores, and other places. There we met different kinds of people.

As a Japanese, our mother tongue is not English so it is not so easy for us to talk to someone and make them understand of what we say. So at first, we hesitated to talk to them but eventually we feel at ease to talk. Talking with IPPO’s students, taxi drivers, shop clerks, teachers were one of the most precious time for me. People there are very kind and really mild and that’s the reason why I enjoyed talking to them.

The scene: Me while teaching Harry (IPPO’s student)The scene: Let’s eat barbecue together. So yummy!!The scene: Me and Atsu buying food in a carenderia (local eatery selling) while bringing the Abacus.The scene: Me while talking and giving IPPO’s flyers to the kids in front of IPPO’s office.The scene: Atsu while preparing the flyers.

We held an activity last 25, Mar 2017 at Lorega, Cebu City and below is the preparation and the actual event.

1 Day Japanese Culture Event

Place: Lorega Chapel where our event is held.

On the last day of our internship, we held an event in Lorega Chapel called 1Day Japanese Culture were we taught the children how to use an Abacus and to make an Origami with the help of some volunteers. The children were so cheerful and they participated in all activities. They looked so interested in Abacus and Origami.

The scene: Gather the children at Lorega Chapel.The scene: One of the volunteer teaching origami to children.The scene: Atsu supervising the children.The scene: Me teaching the children about Abacus.The scene: Mei Ukai playing dampa (a local game using rubber bands) with Lorega children.The scene: Me teaching them about basic Abacus calculation.The scene: Atsu and children with an Abacus.The scene: Me and Atsu giving snacks after the activities.The scene: Say cheese! Thank you so much for coming!!The scene: selfie with the children after the event.The scene: Atsu dancing with the children after the event.

It was very hard to organize an event but thanks to the volunteers, we successfully made it. We really had a good time and we were pleased to know that this children like Abacus. Some of them said they want to go to IPPO to have free trial lesson and I was really glad to hear that.

According to Mei-san, he is planning to expand the recognition of Abacus Education and make many branches around Cebu in the near future and let many Philippine children master Abacus and be good at math.

The scene: We planned to do something but we’re too tired.

Thank you Cebu! Good bye Cebu!

Through this internship we experienced many things. We met many people that helped us to achieve our goals and I sincerely thank them all. We really had a good time. Someday, I want to visit Cebu once again! Till next time!